


Love Is In The Air

by Palefire73



Series: Prisoners. The Chronicles of Loki and Erika [20]
Category: Erika - Fandom, Loki - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Love, Prisoners, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 10:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13587951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Loki and Erika are invited to the Wedding Eve celebrations of Hans and Sara before the big day itself. Loki has a great time out riding with the men and Erika realises something important while spending time dressing up with the ladies.





	Love Is In The Air

At long last the wedding of Loki’s farmhand, Hans, to his betrothed, Sara, had arrived, and the celebrations had begun even before the day itself. Both Loki and Erika had been invited down to the large house in which Sara’s parents lived and they were then separated as Loki went off with the men for the day and Erika stayed with the ladies.

 

“Oh, allow me to braid your hair, Erika!” Sara was growing tired of all the attention being on her today and wanted to try out some of the wedding design ideas on her friends instead. All the ladies had been spending their time together, trying on their gowns, being thoroughly pampered with manicures and indulging in the delicious foods being brought for them to eat. They were having a marvellous time, but Sara was starting to find it a little overbearing and wanted to take a bit of a back seat. They were having a last day together with her as a maiden and the men had gone off hunting to celebrate Hans’ last day as a single man. Ordinarily, Erika would not have attended the extra activities surrounding the wedding because she was not married, but the couple-to-be had decided they wanted her and Loki to be included because of the generosity and friendship they had shown them since they had taken Hans on at the small holding.

 

She stood up from the padded stool situated in front of a large dressing table topped with a mirror and indicated that Erika sit there, “Come along, let us see what we can do with you!” She smiled happily as the young woman shyly took her seat, blushing prettily. They had not known each other terribly long, but there was one thing that Sara and her close friends all agreed upon when they happened to bring them up in conversation: Erika and Loki were welcome additions to the area and, despite their insistence that they were merely companions, made an exceptionally handsome couple. Indeed, some of the girls living in the hamlet had been most disappointed when they first saw Erika; there was no way that Loki could not be in love with her, surely?

 

Sara reached for a hair brush and began to pass it through Erika’s golden curls; the colour was unusual with almost luminous shades of gold, yellow and blonde that ran through it as if it was lit faintly from inside each strand. Blonde hair was not uncommon as a hair colour for Asgardians, but no one else seemed to have quite such a beautiful shade as Erika. It was the hair of the bride that would have the most attention paid to it for the wedding, being the attribute by which her attractiveness was measured, and Sara decided to adorn Erika’s with her bridal crown, which had been handed down to her by her mother. A few of the other women gathered round to pass Sara various ribbons and symbolic trinkets and it was with an ounce of mischief and a bit of fun that they eventually stood back from their labours so that they could all look in the mirror to see the overall effect. One of the other guests called Helena had been standing in the way of Erika’s view in the mirror and it was with a surprise that she now looked at her reflection to see that Sara and her friends had made her up as a bride rather than as one of the bridal sisters. She felt her cheeks redden and she looked down at her hands, which were suddenly clasped together tightly.

 

“You are so pretty, Erika!” Said one of the women, who leaned forward and gently tucked a stray golden curl back over Erika’s ear. “You will make the perfect bride…”

“Are you courting, Erika…?”

“Do you have plans to marry…?”

“… and you do make such a lovely couple…”

“I’d be honoured if you asked me to be a sister for your…”

 

“Haha! No, no! I have no plans to get married…” Erika smiled round at the women who had all begun to ask their excited questions at once, “Sara….” she indicated the bride-to-be “is the one who we should be attending to, not me!” She stood up from the stool and slowly removed the bridal crown meant for the wedding and handed it to her friend. “That was really nice, and I must thank you for your lovely compliments, but let us go to get our supper. I think we have had enough of dressing up for today. I am sure the men will be back soon and Loki and I have a lot to do at the small holding tomorrow before we come down for the wedding. We have to bring your Bridal Ale, for starters!” She smiled at Sara and the women all got up, realising that their leisure time was over. As they did, the faint sounds of horse’s hooves and the voices of men confirmed that Hans and his companions were back from their day of hunting and the group of women began to break up as they went to see how their day had gone.

Erika caught the sleeve of her friend, “Would you undress my hair please, Sara? I cannot take these ribbons home – they are yours!”

The sound of the door opening and the rowdy voices of the men coming in and greeting their women distracted Sara; she had missed Hans today and wanted to see him, “Oh, leave them in for now, Erika, they are perfectly safe in your hair and I know I will get them back. Come along – let us go to see how they did on their hunt!” Before Erika could protest further, she was gone, and the young woman shook her head in disbelief. The ribbons in Erika’s hair were part of Sara’s wedding attire and were actually more important than her gown; after all, it was a woman’s hair that was regarded as the true symbol of her femininity and, as such, was given the most attention for a wedding. She approached the mirror and looked at how the green and golden ribbons had been woven into her hair to sweep it graciously from her face. They had been woven tightly and adorned with small trinkets made of silver which signified fertility and health before being tied at the back of her head and allowed to cascade down her back with her beautiful blonde curls.

 

_~ I should very much like my hair to look like this when I get married ~_

 

The thought disappeared almost as soon as it had formed, but her mind grabbed hold of it and dragged it back into clear view…

 

_~ when I get married ~_

 

“Is that your plan, Erika? You have just denied the very idea to everyone!” Erika chuckled to herself dismissively, but the eyes staring back at her from her reflection in the mirror were serious. _Was it something she wanted? Did she want to become Loki’s wife?_ She recalled times back in Asgard when she had felt so bitter about Loki’s cruelty and how it meant he was someone she would never want to be with, of wishing desperately that he would just let go and become a better version of himself, of wanting him so badly but knowing he could never be who she wanted him to be. The heartache of watching his spiral of self-destruction came crashing back and it was raw and it was cold and it was devastating. Tears glistened in those blue eyes as she looked into them, sorrow subtly changing their shape. _All of that pain_ … yet there was none of it now. In this new world, with its laboratory-synthesized mortals making their own lives into which Loki and Erika were becoming integrated, there _was_ no dark side to Loki. Because of extensive hypnotism carried out during his somewhat lengthy recuperation after his escape attempt, Loki had been shown ways of letting go of the negativity he had built up. In addition, he had allowed certain memories and impulses to be suppressed through repetitive and convincing therapy, all in the name of having the chance to be a happier person. Erika was quite certain that the mischief in him had not disappeared, especially when she considered that Loki was still fairly fond of pranks and cheeky remarks, but that deep-rooted melancholy he had been living under for the last few years seemed to have gone. It was obvious from the way he was changing on a daily basis, right before her eyes. The ill-looking vain God who had swanned around Asgard as King was a far cry from the healthy and robust auburn haired small holder she lived with here. The extra pounds of muscle looked good on Loki’s eight foot frame and his complexion had a ruddier glow about it from working outdoors; he was just completely different.

 

Yet he was still her Loki: the same sense of humour, the same voice… the same taste he left behind on her lips after they had kissed. Warmth spread through Erika and she wiped the tears from her eyes as she began to consider how she felt about the God for whom she had given up so much.

 

_Why would she not want to marry him now?_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“…oh, you scoundrel! How dare you? That was not how it happened at all!”

 

Hans laughed as he took a deep draught of ale and he straddled one of the benches in the large room where everyone had gathered. The wedding party were staying in a very big house owned by Sara’s parents. They were of very high standing in the local area and the farmhouse they lived in was often open to guests for one reason or another. A small barn was attached to the back of the house in order to benefit from the warmth of the chimney and it had been converted into a communal area to be used for all kinds of gatherings and celebrations by the family and their friends.

 

The day’s ride, which had included a bit of hunting, had been a great experience, but the men were all glad to get back and warm their bones by the fire whilst having a drink and sampling some of the delicious foods which had been provided by the staff that worked there. It would not be long until Hans and his brothers and friends retired to one wing of the house and Sara and her ladies to the other. This was their last social gathering as a betrothed couple: tomorrow they were to be wed.

 

“I swear it was! You were too busy trying to control that skittish gelding you insist on riding and the little bugger… sorry ladies… that little creature was running you round in circles!”

“I was keeping it in my sights!”

 

The light-hearted banter echoed through the house and it was not long before the parents of the young couple arrived to join them for supper and to hear tales of what the men had – or perhaps had not – got up to while they were out on their horses. Sara came to sit next to Hans and he playfully grabbed her to bring her to sit on his lap. Others joined them and the huge table was soon surrounded by people eating supper and laughing at the indignation being expressed by Hans as he got teased by his friends in the long tradition of wedding eve festivities. Loki was sitting next to Sara’s mother, discussing the plans for the following day – including bringing the specially brewed Bridal Ale down from the small holding – but it was not long before he noticed Erika had still not joined them. He caught Sara’s eye and called over to her,

 

“Do you know where Erika is?”

“Oh, she will be along soon. Perhaps she is in the little girl’s room!” Sara giggled as Hans nuzzled at her neck and Loki turned away. He did not want to spoil the young couple’s evening by interrupting their fun. He glanced around the room, but could not see Erika anywhere. Perhaps she was simply momentarily indisposed. He accepted a refill of his tankard of ale and joined in as everyone toasted Hans and Sara for about the eighth time since they had arrived back from the ride. A few were getting a bit rowdy now, infused with the thrill of the hunt and the alcohol of the ale, and someone started up an impromptu song. The merry air was infectious and soon the song was being passed around, with each singer making up more and more risqué lyrics as it went on. People were howling with laughter at the suggestive words and Loki had never felt happier… except that he would have preferred to have had Erika at his side. He looked around again and, as he did so, she arrived through an arched doorway where she stopped to look for him.

 

She was an absolute vision.

 

Maybe it was the air of love and romance surrounding the young people currently celebrating Hans and Sara’s last night as an unwed couple, or perhaps it was the fresh air and ale infecting his mind, but as Erika stood in that arched doorway, Loki could not tear his eyes away from her. Dressed in a plain yet elegant deep blue gown, her natural beauty seemed to shine. The relative simplicity of her clothing meant that there was no distraction from what was her crowning glory: her hair. Although she had taken off the bridal crown earlier, Erika’s stunning blonde hair was still braided through with bridal ribbons and adorned with tiny silver trinkets symbolising all that was desirable in a good woman – and these were essentially the things that were emphasised in a bride on her wedding day. Loki was not the only one who took notice of her, but there were quite a few of those present who also noticed how he was looking at her and at how she looked at him once she had found him amongst the sea of faces at the table. There was no mistaking the profundity of feeling between the two of them and more than one breath was sucked in and held as she crossed the room to take her place at the table beside him.

 

There was enough noise being made in general that neither Erika nor Loki noticed that they were being watched by quite a few pairs of eyes, and so they did not feel a sense of having to behave a certain way or to pretend that their relationship was strictly platonic. Loki’s eyes drank her in every step of the way as she came over to the table, and she saw every nuance of his expression as she did so. There was no mistaking his feelings and she knew her own face was telling him the same thing: that the love between them was solid. It was built on foundations that had been attacked repeatedly and damaged mercilessly. Yet those foundations had been repaired each and every time and they had only ever grown stronger. Every single crack had been filled, every fallen stone picked up and cemented back in place. It was a love that was worth fighting for, had been fought desperately for on more than one occasion, and because of this it would be a love that would last forever. It may have been Hans and Sara getting married the following day, but Loki and Erika’s love had been sealed long ago and, although Erika had been reluctant to return to that side of their relationship, she now knew there was nothing to be scared of. Despite the fact that they were in a room full of people and in spite of the fact that she had been holding back from reigniting the physical aspect of their relationship for several weeks, she stopped in front of the handsome God of Mischief, placed her hands on either side of his face and, to the sound of many whoops and cheers, kissed him soundly on the lips.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while and I don't write much for this series as I know OC-based stories are not that well-received in fandoms where readers prefer canon or their own OTPs. The Loki fandom doesn't very often care for OCs simply because so many readers see themselves in the role of his companion and prefer reader inserts, but I am one for variety and like to write different POVs.
> 
> However, sometimes you have just got to write for yourself and I fell in love with my little Asgardian a long time ago. She personifies so many aspects of a lot of the women in my life and I think she is contrasted enough with Loki to present a believable companion. So today I thought I would indulge myself and find out where they are up to in this vast prison The Vision created for them on the request of Thor.
> 
> I hope this finds the (very) few of you kind enough to read in good health.  
> Lots of #Loki love  
> Palefire73  
> x


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